Saw a snippet of what must be Ron Rifkin's new show last nite - "Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit" and was surprised he appears to be wearing the same
wonderful, retro frame he wore in the later years of "Brothers & Sisters":http://www.buddytv.com/alias/photos/ron-rifkin-the-art-of-elysium-presents-russe\
l-young-fame-shame-54353.aspx
So I'm thinking this is what he wears in his private life. Would love to know
who the designer is. Does anyone know?

Another guy on the show also wore a tortoise retro-type frame that looked
interesting.

I was considering some Maui Jim Stingray prescription sunglasses, but thanks to reading tons of pages here, I've found the Salt Wyatts, the styling of which I prefer.

These will be my first prescription sunglasses. I've got some questions:

Firstly, the websites that I have found the Wyatts on all seem to state "the Wyatts come with a non-prescriptions lens. We can duplicate it with one fit to the frames for an additional charge"

I read this as "You're not getting Salt optics anymore, we're going to substitute our in-house lenses". Which sucks, because that's kind of what I'd be wanting to pay the premium for in the first place, right? I mean, only part of that initial price tag is for the bare frames.

Do Salt offer ways to purchase their optics done in prescription? I want the best optics I can get.

I think Maui Jim makes their premium optics directly for prescription. This is what I see on framesdirect.com anyway. I suppose if the Wyatts can't be made to the same optical standard, maybe I should stick with those? That would suck too, because I prefer the styling of the Wyatts.

Thanks,

ccm

Just realized I never answered this...

Lots of questions here and you answered a lot of them yourself. Looks like you did your homework.

2. If you purchase Salt , you're throwing out the lenses and putting in generic lenses (or name brand lenses, which is up to you). When buying Salt sunglasses, you are paying for the frame and lenses but throwing out the lenses. When you buy Prada, you are paying for the name, not really for the frame or lenses. You know what I mean?

3. In the real world, you won't be able to tell much difference between a MJ RX lens and an "in-house" lens. 1 of the main benefits to getting a MJ lens is that they will fit perfectly without any flaws or potential flaws AND their anti-scratch coating will probably be better. Is it really worth paying $500+ for MJ RX sunglasses? That's up to you.

That's my 2 cents. BTW, I talk from experience because I have dispensed RX lenses from Oakley, MJ, Switch, in-house lenses and everything in between. Within my family members we have also tried all of these lenses and frames.

Can anyone recommend a cheap alternative to Dita's Statesman and Grand Reserve models?

Maybe get them used on ebay. There is no substitute i found for the statesman, I have it in black and tort, and wear them daily. Previously I wore the OP Ari. and will never go back. The only thing i def recommend on the statesman is to change the nose pads to silicone ones. as for the grand reserve i feel the bridge is to heavy (in appearance not weight)

anyone able to point me to a decent place to check out frames in bangkok?

i heard of this one place called niche nation. however, they seem quite expensive. i emailed them about a dita frame and they said it would cost me around 650AUD which is more expensive than here (450AUD).

^ 1.67 is a good, however this depends on your prescription, if you're under 5.0 then 1.67 will suffice.

My prescription is -3.25 in both eyes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayzum

^ 1.67 will do the job. I'd go for the coating, because it does make a difference. Perhaps CC can comment.

CC - Where to find two or three tone vintage frames in NYC??

Out of those options 1.67 is your best bet. CR39 is too thick, poly is terrible, and 1.74 is super overkill for your rx. Get the antireflection coating and scratch although it probably comes with it. If you need to pay additional for the coatings though, that is hardly a good deal. You can find those prices in any B&M store and get it done in 15 minutes while you wait. my 2 cents.

Out of those options 1.67 is your best bet. CR39 is too thick, poly is terrible, and 1.74 is super overkill for your rx. Get the antireflection coating and scratch although it probably comes with it. If you need to pay additional for the coatings though, that is hardly a good deal. You can find those prices in any B&M store and get it done in 15 minutes while you wait. my 2 cents.

Yeah, the only thing is I can't find the frames locally, and the website's running a 40% off lenses promotion, so it comes down to $71.40 for the 1.67. I'll take a look around town, though.